Abraham Guest High School
Abraham Guest High is the first new high school to be built in Wigan in almost 30 years and was handed over by constructor, Willmott Dixon on 1 March 2010.
The new £22m school is co-located with Lamberhead Green primary school.
The school boasts new, state of the art facilities including a public lending library, extensive adult learning facilities, performance studio, and sports facilities including a gymnasium, 4-court sports hall and a third generation multi-use games area, which has been designed to Sports England standards.
Pupils and staff have helped to design their new school and had their say in everything from the landscaping to the food on their new, bistro-style cafeteria menu. And the 21st century has truly arrived with a cashless catering system where pupils will be able to buy their lunch using their own fingerprint.
Classrooms are a mixture of traditional classrooms and flexible learning spaces with break out areas. The school is divided into two multi-storey learning blocks, one for core subjects and one for specialist subjects. The two blocks are joined by a light, airy atrium area, which acts as an ‘inside-outside’ space where pupils can relax and socialise or enjoy a bite to eat.
Wireless-enabled technology will allow ‘Anytime, Anywhere’ learning. Pupils will be able to access their work via a range of fixed, mobile and handheld devices wherever they are in the building.
The new school has also been built with sustainability in mind. ‘Grey’ water will be harvested from a ‘knowledge garden’, which will capture rainfall and feed from the toilets and washrooms in the science block. This water will be naturally filtered through a reed bed and fed back into the system and reused, with the remainder being dispersed using a sustainable drainage system.
Abraham Guest marks the start of a bright future for education in Wigan and the new school and facilities show how not only pupils, but also the wider community will benefit from the investment being made to transform education in the borough.
Leigh Central and Sacred Heart Primary Schools
Construction works to rebuild Leigh Central and Sacred Heart primary schools started in July 2008 and phase 1 works were completed in November 2009.
The new schools are located on the existing school grounds on adjacent sites and have been built to an innovative design, which allows both schools to retain their individual characters whilst sharing some facilities.
The site team have preserved the heritage of the old schools by ensuring some of the features from the old schools have been incorporated into the new buildings. A portion of the existing Sacred Heart perimeter has been kept, incorporating the old school entrance just off Grasmere Street.
A number of features from Leigh Central have also been preserved and incorporated into the new habitat area, which forms a great outdoor classroom for both sets of pupils and new SureStart users.
The habitat area includes new external learning zones including ponds, decking, a geology wall and a stimulating planting scheme.
External construction of new play areas include a large playground with a Sports England under 8’s football pitch for the older children.
The infants have their own early years play area, which incorporates soft play areas.
Beech Hill Primary School
Beech Hill primary school is being rebuilt on its existing site as part of the Primary Capital Programme.
The original school was built in 1913 and was becoming increasingly unsuitable for 21st century teaching. It will be rebuilt as a one form entry primary school catering for 210 pupils.
The new £4.6m school is based on the council’s model school design and will have a number of sustainable features including solar heating panels, rainwater harvesting and low energy lighting.
Demolition work started on site in January 2010 and building work has now started on the new school.
During the construction period, pupils will be temporarily housed in a purpose-built ‘modular village’ on the nearby playing fields and the project team have involved the pupils in the construction process by asking them to design a community garden, which will be sited close to the new school entrance.
